This Democratic Convention nominated William J. Bryan for President on the fifth ballot, and named Arthur Sewall, of Maine, for Vice-President on the fifth ballot.
The People's Party Convention met at St. Louis, Mo., July 22, 1896, and ratified the nomination of William J. Bryan for President, but the Middle-of-the-Road members named Thomas E. Watson, of Georgia, for Vice-President, the Vice-President being named first in this Convention; the money plank in the People's Party platform in 1896 was the same in effect as that of the Democratic platform, and its other demands were in general the same as those of 1892. The Silver Party Convention met on the same day (July 22d) in St. Louis and endorsed Bryan and Sewall by acclamation. There were a large number of Democrats in 1896 who were unwilling to endorse the Chicago platform and the candidates, and at the same time they were not willing to vote for the Republican nominees, so they held a convention at Indianapolis September 2, 1896, and nominated John M. Palmer, of Illinois, for President, and Simon B. Buckner, of Kentucky, for Vice-President, and adopted a sound money platform and the name of the "National Democratic Party." Three other conventions had been held; the Prohibition Convention at Philadelphia on May 27, 1896, which nominated Joshua Levering, of Maryland, and Hale Johnson, of Illinois, but a contest had arisen in this convention over the silver question, and it resulted in the secession of a number of delegates who met on the next day and styled themselves "The National Party." They nominated Rev. Chas. E. Bentley, of Nebraska, and James H. Southgate, of North Carolina, and adopted a bi-metallic platform. The Socialist-Labor Convention met at New York on July 6, 1896, and nominated Charles H. Matchett, of New York, and Matthew Maguire of New Jersey.
The campaign of 1896 was not only remarkable in its inception, but continued throughout to be one of the most spectacular in our political history. At first there was general shifting of the old party lines and a "bolting" from all of the party candidates, but the Republican Party suffered the least in this respect. Mr. Bryan conducted a remarkable personal canvass of the entire country, and was greeted by large crowds to see him and hear his arguments. Mr. McKinley remained throughout the canvass at his home in Canton, Ohio, receiving hundreds of visiting delegations and delivering a large number of earnest speeches which were telegraphed over the country and carefully read. Monster street parades were held in the large cities and thousands of badges and lithographs adorned the persons and homes of the enthusiastic partisans, and, as the campaign drew to a close, the people were wrought up to a high pitch of excitement. One striking feature of the canvass was that the ruin and disaster of the four years of Cleveland's second term which, late in 1895, indicated an easy victory for the Republicans, was largely forgotten by the people in the new, exciting and novel issues raised and argued by Mr. Bryan, but those who carefully analyzed the returns of the States which voted in the elections held in August and September, and the trend of public opinion, saw that a Republican victory was almost certain, and this proved true on November 6, 1896, when the popular vote in the several States secured to McKinley and Hobart 271 electoral votes to 176 for Bryan and Sewall. The total popular vote at the election of 1896 was as follows:
McKinley ……… 7,111,607 Bryan ………… 6,509,052
Palmer ……….. 134,645 Levering ……… 131,312
Matchett ……… 36,373 Bentley ………. 13,968
William McKinley was inaugurated for his first term on March 4, 1897, and immediately called a special session of Congress to take action on the tariff. The Wilson Tariff Law, as already noted, had totally failed to provide sufficient revenue to meet the expenses of the Government, and the result was a steady and growing deficit in the Treasury. On March 18, 1897, Nelson Dingley, Jr., of Maine, introduced his Tariff Bill in the House, and it became a law with the President's signature on July 24, 1897.
[Illustration: Second inauguration of William McKinley, March 4, 1901.]
The Cuban question now came to the front and occupied public attention more seriously than ever before. The United States had always taken a lively interest in Cuban affairs, and when the Cubans revolted in 1895 for the sixth time against the cruel domination of the Spaniards there was deep sympathy for them in this country, that continued to grow as the months went by. In 1896 the Cubans were accorded the rights of belligerents by the United States. Throughout the Summer of 1897 the country was horrified by the reports from the "reconcentrado" camps established by General Weyler, and sent aid and relief to the suffering Cubans. The climax of hostility toward Spain came with the terrible news on February 15, 1898, that the Battleship "Maine" had been blown up in Havana Harbor and 260 American sailors killed. War was declared in April, 1898, and the glorious achievements of American arms are too fresh in memory to require an extended review of them in these pages. Peace came with the Protocol signed at Washington, August 12, 1898, and the formal Treaty of Peace was signed at Paris, December 10, 1898. Spain released her title to Cuba, and the United States acquired Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippine Islands, paying Spain the sum of $20,000,000 for the latter, and taking control of the islands for the suppression of civil war and to avoid foreign complications. While the Spanish-American war was in progress the country expanded territorially by the annexation of Hawaii, which was accomplished by joint resolution, signed by the President July 7, 1898.
The Fifty-sixth Congress organized with the election of David B. Henderson, of Iowa, as Speaker of the House, and the most important legislation was the Gold Standard Act of 1900, which effectually settled the money question, as far as the gold or silver standard was concerned, by providing for the coinage of a dollar consisting of 25 8-10 grains of gold, nine-tenths fine, as the standard of value, and that all forms of money issued in coin were to be maintained at a parity of value with this gold standard. The Act further provided that all United States notes and Treasury notes shall be redeemed in gold coin, and a redemption fund of $150,000,000 was established. President McKinley signed this most important Act, and it became a law on March 14, 1900. In March, 1900, President McKinley, taking up the question of governing the Philippine Islands, appointed a Civil Commission composed of William H. Taft, of Ohio, President; Prof. Dean C. Worcester, of Michigan; Luke E. Wright, of Tennessee; Henry C. Ide, of Vermont, and Prof. Bernard Moses, of California, to continue and perfect the work of organizing and establishing civil government in the Philippines, which had already been commenced by the military authorities. The Commission proceeded to the Philippines in the following April, and their work was one of the most remarkable in the history of the nation, bringing order out of chaos, to the complete satisfaction not only of the people of this country but also the Filipinos, with very few exceptions. Education and enlightenment followed the broad-minded policy of this government, and through the splendid work of Governor William H. Taft military control was gradually made unnecessary and the Filipinos were rapidly prepared for self-government.
Great prosperity marked the business conditions of the country during President McKinley's administration, and the balance in the U. S. Treasury at the end of his term was nearly $495,000,000, which was a strong contrast to the penury and borrowing during Cleveland's second term. This splendid record, the successful conduct of the Spanish-American war, the success in governing the new territories of the United States, the courageous and dignified action in regard to foreign affairs, and the complete and general satisfaction with his entire administration, made President McKinley the logical and unanimous choice of the party for the nomination in 1900, and the only question in the convention would be as to who would have the honor of the second place on the ticket. All of the minor parties held their conventions in 1900 before the conventions of the old parties. The Social Democrats were first, with their convention at Indianapolis, March 6, 1900, at which Eugene V. Debs was nominated for President. The People's Party met at Sioux Falls, South Dakota, May 9-10, 1900, and nominated William J. Bryan for President and Charles A. Towne for Vice-President. Their platform denounced the gold standard Act of March 14, 1900, advocated free silver, an income tax, and condemned the war policy of the Republican Party. A faction of the People's Party opposed to fusion with the Democrats had seceded in 1896, and became known as the Middle-of-the-Road People's Party; they met in convention at Cincinnati May 9-10, 1900, and nominated Wharton Barker, of Pennsylvania, and Ignatius Donnelly, of Minnesota. The Socialist-Labor Party met at New York June 2-8, 1900, and nominated Joseph F. Malloney, of Massachusetts, and Valentine Remmel, of Pennsylvania. The Prohibition Convention was held in Chicago, Illinois, June 27-28, and nominated John G. Woolley, of Illinois, and Henry B. Metcalf, of Rhode Island.
The Twelfth Republican National Convention began its session Tuesday, June 19, 1900, at Philadelphia, in the National Export Exposition Building. About 12:35 p. m. on that day, Senator Marcus A. Hanna, Chairman of the National Committee, faced the vast assemblage of delegates and spectators and called the Convention to order. After the opening prayer by Rev. J. Gray Bolton, Chairman Hanna, in a short speech, which was received with great applause, introduced Senator Wolcott, of Colorado, as Temporary Chairman. Senator Wolcott accepted the honor in a strong speech, and after the roll-call of States for the naming of the various committees, a motion to adjourn was made, and then Rev. Edgar M. Levy, who had uttered the invocation at the first Republican National Convention, forty-four years since, delivered a benediction, and about 3 p. m. the session was over for the day. At the opening of the second day, Chairman Wolcott stated that fifteen survivors of the preliminary Republican Convention at Pittsburg in 1856 were present with the same old flag used in that convention, and as these men came forward, with their tattered flag, they received a remarkable and stirring ovation. Sereno E. Payne, of New York, reported for the Committee on Credentials, and the report was adopted without debate. Gen. Charles E. Grosvenor, of Ohio, Chairman of the Committee on Permanent Organization, now reported the name of Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, of Massachusetts, as Permanent President of the Convention, and that the rest of the temporary officers be made permanent; the report was adopted, and Senator Lodge delivered a scholarly and eloquent speech, reviewing the history of the country for the past forty-four years. Senator Chas. W. Fairbanks, of Indiana, Chairman of the Committee on Resolutions, then read the platform, which was adopted with displays of the utmost enthusiasm.